West Ham, under new management on and off the field, predictably spent the summer in the transfer headlines.

They made numerous audacious bids for star players such as Thierry Henry and German World Cup striker Miroslav Klose, although how much of this was driven by new boss Avram Grant isn’t clear.

The Hammers are, according to co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold, £110m in debt and only secured Grant, a popular boss at Portsmouth, on a lucrative four-year deal. But this hasn’t dissuaded the club from chasing big-name signings.

Henry was reportedly offered £75,000-per-week to come to Upton Park, although the East Londoners were forced to admit that Klose was beyond their reach after his impressive four-goal showing in Germany’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.

Sullivan claimed: “We had a deal in place before the World Cup, after he had a bad season in Germany. However, as a result of what he has done at the World Cup, it’s unlikely to happen.”

 

Predictably, the big-name bids were unsuccessful, with cynics suggesting that they were mere publicity stunts aimed at boosting season-ticket sales. And West Ham have struggled in the transfer market.

They have had a series of bids turned down for West Bromwich Albion’s goalscoring midfielder Graham Dorrans.

Two bids of around £4m were rejected earlier in the summer and an improved £5m bid last week was “rejected out of hand” by Albion chairman Jeremy Peace, who added pointedly that details of the bid “had been leaked to the media.”

West Ham’s only successful squad addition is the aptly nicknamed Thomas “the Hammer” Hitzlsperger, who has signed a three-year deal after joining on a free transfer from Italian club Lazio, where he was out of contract.

However, despite recent reports that the Hammers had an £11.2m bid turned down for 23-year-old Nice striker Loic Remy, this deal may yet go ahead.

The clubs have disagreed on the transfer fee payments timetable, with the Hammers wanting to pay four equal annual instalments and Nice demanding over three-quarters of the fee up-front.

But Remy himself has said: “I’ve always dreamed of playing in England. When a club like West Ham is on the cards, it’s always interesting.”

Grant was officially unveiled as Hammers manager last week, having been confirmed as manager in early June and overcome subsequent work permit problems.

The 55-year-old insisted he would be in charge of first-team affairs and would pick the team, despite the problems predecessor Gianfranco Zola had in both departments.

Grant said: “(Sullivan and Gold) are so passionate about the club and our relationship is good. But I’m the manager, I pick the players and they know that.”

Over the summer West Ham were forced to reach a compensation settlement of at least six figures with Zola over his dismissal for complaints he made about Sullivan and Gold’s alleged interference in transfer policy.

The co-chairmen, meanwhile, increased their combined stake in the club to 60% last month, and are actively seeking further outside investment.